After India carried out pre-dawn "non-military, pre-emptive air strikes" across the Line of Control on Tuesday to target the biggest camp of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, the Army shared a poem that, in a sense, captures the current mood of the armed forces.
"If you are docile and polite before the enemy, he may consider you as a coward, the way Kauravas treated Pandavas," the army tweeted a Hindi poem, with the hashtag #AlwaysReady.
The poem by Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh ''Dinkar'' was tweeted by Additional Director General, Public Information on its official handle. Peace overtures, the poem says, is possible only when you are in a powerful position and capable to win.
Tuesday's air strike comes 12 days after the Pulwama terror attack in which over 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Jaish, based in Pakistan and led by Masood Azhar, had claimed responsibilty for the suicide bombing.
Some 300 terrorists were killed in the Indian Air Force strike at around 3:30 am, top government sources have told NDTV. Twelve Mirage 2000 fighter jets dropped 1,000 kg bombs on the camp at Balakot, around 80 km from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
India will brief major world powers about Tuesday's air strikes.
"There was very credible intelligence info that JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammed) was planning to carry out terror strikes across India, thereby making this strike absolutely necessary. It was a non-military, pre-emptive strike. India has decided to take action against any terror threat to it," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said.
The terror camp in Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousouf Azhar, or Ustad Gouri, the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar.
The strikes were "100 per cent successful" and went on "exactly as planned", sources had told NDTV. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting with top ministers,National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and other officials in the cabinet committee on security at his home. PM Modi later briefed President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.
(With inputs from PTI)
24 Hours After Terror Attack, Encounter Continues In J&K's Doda Exclusive: 1st Videos Of IAF Night-Time Laser-Guided Bomb Attacks On Tiger Hill During Kargil War Captain Anshuman Singh's Parents Question "Next Of Kin" Rule, Demand Its Revision World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Relationship Timeline Of Hardik Pandya, Wife Who "Parted Ways": 5 Facts 3 Passengers Die As Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express Derails In UP Delhi University Inviting Applications For Course In Pali/Tibetan Hegemonistic Ambitions: Tibet PM-In-Exile On China Renaming Places In India 7 Killed, 3 Injured As Taxi Falls Into Roadside Well In Maharashtra: Report Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.